Daughter of Freya
by I'm not overly obsessive
Summary: Astrid, a few years older than Hiccup, doesn't think much of his boyish crush on her. But she's forced to confront it when her parents decide that the newly-dubbed hero is the one for her. Contains lemons. Rated M for a reason.
1. Prologue: Seventeen

A/N: Why hello there. This is my first fic on this account, and I fully intend to finish this one. The ages are different than canon. Astrid is significantly older than Hiccup, which is a big part of the story (she is seventeen whereas he is fifteen). It will be in Astrid's point of view, but I'll most likely reveal the thoughts and feelings of other characters, as well. You should also note that, as it says in my profile, I have not studied the HTTYD characters extensively, so they may be OOC, and I apologize in advance for that. Feel free to bring it up. Also feel free to bring up any grammatical/spelling/punctuation/ect mistakes you come across. I do proofread all my work and am pretty good with the previously mentioned things, but I imagine I'll make a mistake every now and then regardless. Since FF is a buttwhipe and isn't letting me do lines of any sort to indicate a change in who is thinking, as well as when the chapter begins and ends, I will instead put something in bold, like **so**. Thoughts will be italicized. So keep an eye out for that. Anyway, I will give chapter ratings as well as an overall story rating. The story rating will comply with FF's ratings. Well, okay. It sort of will. Technically, this story is MA, and FF doesn't want MA fics for some odd reason, but somehow, I doubt they're going to start enforcing it, as there are just too many lemon fics on this site. Anyway, I will make up my own ratings for the individual chapters. They are as follows:

T: no cursing to mild cursing, no sexy times, and no other adult content. Possible innuendos, but nothing graphic.

T+: cursing, innuendos, hints of sexy times, possible references to sexual stuff.

M: possibly anything listed above, but what will get it bumped up is sexy times.

Story rating: M

Chapter rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon or any of it's characters. Dammit.

Summary: Astrid, a few years older than Hiccup, ignores his affection for her, dismissing it as a boyish crush. But it becomes rather difficult to ignore when her parents decide it's high time she got married, and that Hiccup, having saved the village, is quite the catch. Hiccup himself decides to take matters into his own hands.

This chapter: Essentially a set up chapter. What the deal is with Astrid, her acknowledging that Hiccup has feelings for her, but her thinking of him as a boy instead of a man.

**Prologue: Seventeen**

Seventeen. Seventeen, unmarried and childless. That's me. It's not like I heaven't gotten my fair share of offers or anything, it's just that I don't want to get married. It's not that I don't want children. If I were to get married, I would want a husband who actually cared for me. The men on Berk who have asked for my hand weren't interested in me. They see my fighting ability, and they want that for their sons. That's another problem I have with marriage- sons. They don't want a companion, these guys. They want a childbearing machine. And I want more than that for myself. I like fighting. And that is why I, Astrid Hofferson, will most likely wear a kransen around my gray hair-covered head at my funeral. Because while men like the sturdiness of my body and my ability to fight (both things are good for a woman to have if she's going to give birth, at least in this society), they lose interest upon discovering that I will not simply be a wife and mother, for I would be dissatisfied. And that's just fine with me. It's much easier to go about my business without men falling all over me at all hours of the day, as they used to. I am grateful to Freya for leading their attentions elsewhere.

Men vied for my affections for approximately three years. Starting after my twelfth birthday, the minimum marriageable age for women, all through my fifteenth year, at which time they finally got the picture and gave up. They haven't looked at me that way since.

All except one: Hiccup. The lanky fifteen-year-old has watched me for years, when he thinks I'm not paying attention. Despite being skinny and lacking in muscle mass, he's quite tall. Vikings tend to stop growing at about thirteen, hence the marriageable age being around that time. It's a silly little crush, I know, but most teenage boys have fleeting crushes, not ones that last from the time they're eleven to fifteen, do they? Or maybe it's normal for them to last this long, and for the object of their affection to be stared at intently. Sometimes he looks... Desperate, almost. I might even go as far as to describe the look in his eyes as one of hunger; one I might mistake for that of food if he hadn't eaten in a week, if he wasn't looking directly at me. Sometimes I'll catch him, and his face will turn bright red, his eyes going from hungry to shocked, and then he averts them. It's quite funny, actually.

In any case, I'm rambling. There's no reason to go on and on about a kid with a crush.

**Historical stuff**: This is not supposed to be 100% historically accurate. I will make it accurate (according to my knowledge) when it is appropriate to the plot line, but I may add some things in there that are not historically accurate. I don't know about male Vikings, but for female Vikings, the marriageable age started at twelve. That's accurate. Couldn't find anything on male Vikings, though (no one on the internet seems to take interest in the marriageable age for men in other cultures). To my knowledge, Vikings did not stop growing around thirteen. However, I'm putting it in anyway. I don't know this for sure, but it would make sense for men (before doctors who could ease the birthing process, and the fatalities that came with it, were around) to seek out healthy women with sturdy bodies; you know, women who looked like they could bear plenty of children. By the way, I discovered that a kransen is what Astrid wears as a sort of headband in the movies. It represents chastity. I learned this from Lio's fic, One Last Problem, which is awesome and you should totally read it. And the sequel, too.


	2. Chapter One: Goddess

Story rating: M

Chapter rating: T+

This chapter: Similar to the prologue, this chapter sets up Hiccup's feelings for Astrid.

**Chapter One: Goddess**

Hiccup was utterly convinced that Astrid was the daughter of Freya, if not Freya herself. Why? Because Freya's the goddess of sorcery, and no way could anyone make another person feel so strongly for them without sorcery. She's also the goddess of gold, which was the color of her hair. War was next on the list, and Hiccup had never seen a female who kicked more ass than her. The goddess was also associated with death, which made perfect sense, as the unsuspecting Astrid could very well be the death of him. She's also the goddess of fertility, and with hips like that, there was no way Astrid could be infertile. Her mother, Freya, was the goddess of beauty, and Hiccup was certain that she had never had to hope for it; he had never seen anyone more beautiful. And then, of course, there was love. And as cliche as it may sound, Hiccup would slay every dragon that flew over Berk for her without a second thought. True, he wouldn't do a very good job of it, but he would certainly try. And sexuality. Of course she was the daughter of the goddess of sexuality. How could she not be when one look, one smile in his direction, had him feeling a very strong need to throw himself in the freezing ocean to calm his body in order to avoid tackling her to the ground? _Oh yes_, he thought to himself as she walked past him, hips swaying back and forth. _She simply _had_ to be the daughter of Freya_.

**Historical stuff**: Freya is, in fact, the Norse goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, fertility, sorcery (well, okay, some fancy word for it but that's what it means, according to Wikipedia), war, gold and death. However, as far as I know (which isn't a whole lot, as I'm not big on medical stuff), hips don't have anything to do with how fertile you are. Despite this, it was a common belief in the past. The movie Dark Shadows portrayed it in a pretty funny way.


	3. Chapter Two: Of Discussions & News

A/N: The story is finally in motion. I know the previous chapters were short, but they'll be pretty long from here on out. I'll pretty much skip right over the scenes in the movie, as that's not what this fic is about. Let's say Hiccup's still resting and healing, and he's just about ready to wake up. Back to Astrid (though it does alternate a bit, as I think it's important for us to know what Hiccup is thinking at this point in time)!

Story rating: M

Chapter rating: T

This chapter: Hiccup and Stoick have a chat, and Astrid gets the news broken to her.

**Chapter Two: Of Discussions & News**

I won't lie. I have been worried about him. Of course, it's not just me. He saved our village, you see. So naturally, the whole village is worried about him. I think we were all relieved when he emerged from his house. I was walking past it at the time, and he saw me when he opened the door. I smiled brightly, walking over to him.

**_Oh, Gods,_** thought Hiccup, _there she is. She smiled at me! She has the most beautiful sm- holy shit is she walking over to me? She is! What am I gonna say to her? What do I-_

"Welcome back, Hiccup. Everyone will be so relieved to see that you're awake!" She exclaimed happily.

Hiccup smiled awkwardly. "Uh... Thanks."

She smiled again. "How's your leg? Does it hurt? Is there anything I can do for you?"

_Oh, there's something you can do, alright. But not to my-_ and then that thought was cut off. He was reminded of his leg. He was a cripple. He was so sure she would never want him before, but then he was suddenly worth something, and he had had every intention of wooing her. _But now, with my leg,_ he thought to himself, _even an unattractive, unintelligent woman wouldn't want me. Much less someone as beautiful and amazing as Astrid._

"Hiccup?" She pulled him out of his mopey thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. My leg is fine."

Her gaze was sympathetic. "I know it must be difficult for you, having to wake up just now and have a sort of hook in place of a foot." She placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him. It caused an entirely different emotion to rise within him, and he very much wanted to yank her into his house.

"I guess," he shrugged, attempting nonchalance.

She smiled reassuringly, bid him good day, and turned to leave. As she walked away, he watched her hips. _So perfect..._ He thought. _Gods, I need her. Cripple or not, I have to have her._

And it was at this point in time that Hiccup was bombarded with enthusiastic greetings. Finally, well into the afternoon, he was left alone. He and his father were able to sit and talk. Which was good, because his father had experience with courting, whereas Hiccup did not. Therefore, he decided to share his desire to be with Astrid, and ask for assistance in making her his.

"I can't express how proud I am of you, son." Stoick said.

"Thanks, dad." Hiccup said with a smile. "But, um..." He began, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea after all.

"What is it?" His father questioned, raising a bushy red eyebrow.

"Now that I've, uh, made more of name for myself than just Hiccup the Screw Up, do you think I may be able to, you know...?" He trailed off, embarrassed.

"Nope, haven't got a clue. What is it that you want to do, exactly?"

"Well," Hiccup began nervously, "there's this girl I have feelings fo-"

"Astrid?" His father cut in.

"H-how did you know?" Stuttered Hiccup.

The bearded man chuckled, waving off his son's question. "Son, I would have to be an idiot not to notice how you look at her. Gobber mimicked that very face when he described how I would look at your mother when I was your age. It's pretty clear you're just as in love with Astrid as I was with your mother."

Hiccup wasn't entirely sure what to say, so he stayed silent.

"So," his father continued, "what are your, ah, intentions with her?"

Hiccup sighed. "You said it yourself. I love her. I want her."

"Yes, I know that." Stoick said, exasperated. "But _how_ do you want her, precisely? Do you mean you want her for your bed, or do you mean you want her for the rest of your life?"

His son turned beet red. "Well, uh, both."

Chuckling again, Stoick said, "I see. You want her for your bed for the rest of your life," he said, earning a sheepish nod from the young man.

"Well, son, I've got good news for you." Hiccup looked questioningly at his father. "Nearly every girl in the village has her sights set on you, and I have have heard all the girls' parents speaking of their desire for their daughters to wed you," Stoick said, his chest swelling with pride over his son's newfound popularity- one he hadn't even been aware of.

Hiccup looked thrilled for a second, then his expression changed. "Nearly every girl, you said? Who doesn't?"

The larger man sighed, his wide shoulders sagging slightly. "Ruffnut, and yes, Astrid as well, to my knowledge." His son's expression was so sullen just then that he rushed on. "But her parents have been one of the few people to outright tell me of their desire for their daughter to marry you instead of whispering it amongst themselves. They're very adamant about it. And honestly, I think she's the best choice for you. You are in need of a wife, and while I have no desire to rush the matter, the rest of the village seems to disagree. Astrid is seventeen, and her parents are downright desperate to marry her off. The only reason I didn't agree to the contract right then and there was I wanted to ensure there was no one else in your heart."

"No," Hiccup said earnestly. "I love her. I can't imagine being with anyone else. I... I didn't think she would consider me before I did what I did but now I'm afraid she won't want me because of, well, you know, this," he gestured to his leg.

"Ah," his father said knowingly. "Rest assured, son. She'll come 'round." The red headed man smiled. "And frankly," he mumbled so his son couldn't hear, "she doesn't have much of a choice."

And Stoick promptly left to inform the Hoffersons of the delightful news.

Similarly, Hiccup went to tell Toothless that he would soon have the woman he had desired for so long.

_It's about damn time,_ thought the dragon. _Why do humans take so long to confront their mates? Why can't they just go up and tell them what they want?_ He wondered.

**_Hm,_ **I thought. _The sky is darkening. Yes, I should head home._ I put my axe over my shoulder and walked home, humming happily to myself.

I opened the door after placing my axe outside to hear the tail end of a conversation. "So that's that, then. I'm so pleased we've sorted this out!" My mother exclaimed.

_What's going on?_ I wondered. Then I saw Stoick rising from a chair as my father scribbled something on a sheet of paper, folding it up when he finished. By the smiles on their faces, I decided it wasn't anything bad. I smiled politely at the huge man as he walked out the door, and my parents and I waved him off.

"We have wonderful news, Astrid!" My mother squealed happily.

"Perhaps you should sit down," my father said tentatively, in what I would later realize was a sensitive gesture. He handed me the paper. "Don't look at it until you leave the house next." I looked questioningly at him, but slid it into my pocket nonetheless.

"What is it, mom?" I asked her, complying with my father's suggestion as I did so.

"You're getting married!"

And then, all was silent.

**Historical stuff**: I don't know if Viking marriages required the woman's consent. I know they did with the parents, but I don't know about the bride. So I'll say, for argument's sake, that the bride can accept proposals, which will then either be approved or denied by the parents, but a man (or even a man's parents, as I did here) can go to the parents of the bride and obtain their permission instead of their daughter's.


	4. Chapter Three: Tears & Rain

A/N: Oh snap! How will Astrid react to this one? Read and find out!

Story rating: M

Chapter rating: T+

This chapter: Astrid needs to escape for a bit.

**Chapter Three: Tears & Rain**

I was beyond furious. It was clear they weren't joking. "WHAT?!" I screamed.

"Now Astrid, hone-" my mother began, but I cut her off.

"What the hell is WRONG with you?! Why would you marry me off like this?! Why can't I decide for myself?!" I bellowed, seething.

"Because you need a husband!" Said my exasperated mother.

"I need no such thing!" I shot back. "I need happiness, and a husband doesn't soun-"

"A husband will take care of you, and the man we've chosen-" my father began.

"The man _you've_ chosen? _You chose_ a man for me? Why do _you_ get to decide?!" I was practically breathing fire, much like my own dragon could've done. "And I can take care of myself! I've done that just fine for years!"

"The man we've chosen for you," continued my father, "will not only take care of you, but he will love and cherish you, as well. And he will love and cherish the children you give him, too."

"Ch-children?!" I sputtered. "I'm not going to- I mean, I can't- I don't want to have children!" I lied. I had always wanted children, but saying I didn't made them less likely to marry me off. Or so I thought.

"Don't be silly, Astrid," began my mother. We both know you've wanted children ever since you were one of them yourself."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I said nothing. "We just want you to be happy and provided for, honey." My father told me gently. "And your mother and I both want you to have a husband who loves you, and this man is already in love with you." My mother nodded in agreement.

"I don't give a damn how much he loves me. He's probably some disgusting old geezer." I spat.

Aghast, my mother said, "he is no such thing, he's-"

"I don't care what he is. Old geezer or not, I won't marry him!" I growled.

"You will." My mother said firmly. "It has already been finalized. You are to be married on Freya's Day."

"No, no, I won't. I can't." Tears of shock filled my eyes.

"You must, Astrid." I heard my mother's gentle voice through the sound of my crying. "He loves you, and I know you will be happy with him. There is no one better for you."

"I need to leave. I need to get out of here." I ran for the door. As I opened it, I heard my father's voice. "See? I told you the note was a good idea." I shut the door behind me.

I was then bombarded with rain, thunder I hadn't noticed from inside cracking loudly overhead.

"Damn," I said to myself. I had been planning to ride Stormfly somewhere and hide out as long as I could. Unfortunately, I hadn't been riding very long, as I only had gotten my own dragon after Hiccup's injury, which was when everyone got their dragons and started to learn to ride them. I grabbed my axe, which was by the front door. I stormed off in an entirely random direction, not noticing the teenage boy who had been waiting patiently near my house.

**She** was incredible. Her hair was wet from the rain, and he wanted so badly to touch it. To touch all of her. To kiss her body as the rain streamed over them.

And yet, he heard her crying. Concerned, he followed her. He wasn't sure he wanted to know why she was so upset, or why he had heard yelling coming from inside her house, but he had to know. So as her walk became faster, and that broke into a run, he ran after her, with Toothless close behind.

**I went** into the forest, finding a spot under a tree where the rain couldn't reach me. I pulled my knees to my chest and wept.

Why had this happened? I had always been a good daughter. Not what they had expected, to be sure, what with my fighting and all, but I had never done anything particularly bad. It never occurred to me that they would want to marry me off. I didn't need a husband, I decided.

As a matter of fact, I said it aloud. "I don't need a husband. I don't want a husband. And I don't need children, either. I'm perfectly happy without all that, thank you very much."

I hadn't heard the rustling they made, what with the rain pummeling the ground and all, as well as the sound of myself crying, so you can imagine my surprise when I glanced up to see Hiccup and Toothless in front of me. Hiccup plopped down next to me.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." I mumbled in reply.

"Are you alright?" He seemed genuinely concerned. It was sweet of him, even if it was only due to his long-standing crush on me. Still, he had recently become a good friend of mine.

I snickered sardonically in response. "Hardly."

"Why?" He questioned. "What happened? You look like you've been crying."

"Yeah, I guess I have." I said with a sigh. I turned to him. "We're friends, aren't we, Hiccup? I can talk to you about things?"

"Yeah, of course," he told me with a smile I didn't know was to stop himself from telling me that we would be so much more than friends from then on.

I sighed again. "Well, to be honest with you, my parents have set me up with someone."

"Yeah, I heard you saying that you, um, didn't want a husband." He said nervously. I wondered why in the back of my mind, but didn't think much of it.

I nodded. "And I certainly don't need one. But my parents... They've decided I _do_ need a husband, and that I need to have children, too. They don't seem to care what will make me happy or unhappy. They've convinced themselves that he loves me, and that I'll love him, too."

"Well," Hiccup began, "you never know. Maybe he does love you, and you might very well end up loving him back."

"Humph." I said in reply. "Highly unlikely. Even if he _does_ love me, which I seriously doubt, my money's on him being some old guy. And frankly, I can't see any possible circumstance in which I would fall in love with an old guy."

"Do you think you would if he wasn't old?" He asked. He seemed nervous again, which I thought was quite odd.

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'm not getting married."

"Hm. I dunno, maybe you should consider it." He said cautiously.

I sniggered. "Not a chance." I paused. "Hey, do you think you could take me flying for a bit?"

Hiccup reached out a hand to feel the rain. "It's pretty cold. It might hail. You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I don't care. I gotta get outta here. And far away from whatever guy's got it in his head that he's gonna marry me." Little did I know that the guy who had said thing in his head was the same one I wrapped my arms around as Toothless took off.


	5. Chapter Four: The Note

A/N: The note in this chapter will be underlined.

Story rating: M

Chapter rating: T

This chapter: Oh dear. It's gonna hail. Better find somewhere safe, don't you think? Also, Astrid reads the note good ol' daddy wrote her.

**Chapter Four: The Note**

The pieces of falling ice were small, as it always was at first. But we both knew that wouldn't last long. We were about two hours out; I had never flown out this far before, and it was nice.

"We need to take shelter," he said over the rain and light hail. I agreed, and told him so. "There's a cave over there," he pointed downwards. We decided it would be best to stay in the cave 'till the hail let up; no way could we make it back to Berk in the five minutes it would take for the hail to become dangerous.

My arms tightened around my friend as we soared downwards. We landed quickly and softly, and I dismounted with ease. Hiccup followed swiftly. I looked around the small cavern.

"I've come to use it fairly regularly, so I've set it up for things like this." That explained the blankets, furs, firewood and pit, as well as the spare clothing and what appeared to be a makeshift place to dry one's clothes.

"Excellent. This is perfect." I decided. "I walked over and grabbed a shirt.

"Uhhh... What're you doing...?" He trailed off.

"Well I can't very well stay in these wet clothes, now can I? I'll get sick. Now turn around so I can change." I said.

He turned around, and I missed his reluctance to do so. Little did I know that the sound of my wet clothes rustling as I peeled them from my body was driving him insane from needing me.

I pulled the shirt over my head after drying myself off with one of the blankets, having left my breast bindings and the cloth I wrapped around my lower half (neither article of clothing was that wet). "Okay, you can turn around now. I'll make a fire and you can change, too." He nodded his assent, and I turned to make a fire.

Shortly after the flames started up, he informed me that he was finished, and I shot him a brief smile over my shoulder to let him know I heard him. I picked up my clothes, and moved past him to hang them by the fire. As I hung up my skirt, the paper my dad had given me fell out. It had been spared the rain, it seemed, and I was grateful for it.

"What's that?" Wondered Hiccup.

"A paper my dad have me shortly before telling me they'd be marrying me off. The wedding's supposed to be in just a few days, you know. On Freya's Day." I said with a miserable sigh.

"Well, all weddings are on Freya's Day. She's the goddess of love, fertility, and, um, sexuality. So it makes sense." He said nervously. _He certainly is nervous a lot, isn't he?_ I thought to myself.

I shuddered. "How horrible it's going to be to be married. I don't even want to think about it." I missed the sad look that passed over his face; an expression of longing. "Although," I continued, "I probably should read this, since my dad wrote it. He was much more sensitive about it than my mom. I owe it to him to read it."

"Alright." He said, his voice still nervous. _He certainly is nervous a lot, isn't he?_ I thought to myself.

I began to read.

Astrid,  
><span>I know that this will be hard for you to accept. I also know you and your mother very well, and I know that both of you will be too busy screaming at each other to bother with who it is you're marrying.<span>

"I think it's about who I'm supposed to be shackled to!" I gasped.

He gulped. I didn't notice.

I continued reading, with Hiccup nervously looking over my shoulder.

It is for this reason that I have taken it upon myself to write you this, so that when you run off -or fly off, rather-, as I know you will, when you calm down enough to find out who your husband will be, you will be able to find out and stay where you are.. Your mother didn't express it in the best way, I'm sure, but there is no doubt in my mind that he loves you. This is a man who will devote himself to you completely. I know that he wants nothing more than to spend his life with you, and to have children with you. I have been told that he has no desire to change you, or ask you to stop to cease fighting. It is for this, and many other reasons, that I implore you to not only look past your determination to remain unmarried, but also the age difference between you.

I gasped. "I knew it! He _is_ an old guy!"

"He might not be..." Hiccup mumbled.

"I guess. But he probably is," I replied, glancing at him.

Hiccup remained silent.

My eyes returned to the page.

He is younger than you, Astrid. Significantly younger than you. Two years younger, in fact. I know that you will feel that a fifteen-year-old is much too young for you, but I promise you that there is no one out there who could be better for you than him.

I scoffed. "Yeah, fifteen is _way_ too young," I said, not thinking about the fact that I was around a fifteen-year-old at that very moment. "There's no point in even reading the rest. It's not happening."

"Don't you think you should at least find out who it is?" Asked my friend. Having finished reading it (unbeknownst to me), he had moved in front of me.

"I suppose. Not because I'm going to marry him, of course. Just so that I know who to avoid."

I missed Hiccup's nervous gulp as I looked back down to the note.

I have waited until the end to give you much of an idea of who he is. I am sure you will be near him when you read this, and I don't want you running away from him, as I know you will do, once you have enough information to figure out who he is.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like I would hang out with some weirdo who's set on marrying me." My statement was quite contrary to the truth. Of course, I wouldn't know that until I read what I was about to.

And so I think that now is a good time to tell you his name. Remember, Astrid- he loves you. I see it in his eyes when he looks at you. We all see it. And this is when I tell you. His name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, and he is to be your husband.


	6. Chapter Five: Hiccup's Desperation

A/N: Well, this'll be interesting. I like to think that Hiccup could be dominating if he got possessive of Astrid, and I think he would in this circumstance.

Story rating: M

Chapter rating: M; pretty severe sexual stuff but not a full on lemon just yet. You should take note that not everything in this chapter is... Ah... Consensual on Astrid's part. But you should know that no way in hell (or Hel, I should say. Heh) would Hiccup do anything to hurt Astrid. He loves her way too much, and that is true in my story as well as in canon.

This chapter: Hiccup is not particularly pleased with Astrid's reaction to her dad's note.

**Chapter Five: Hiccup's desperation**

I dropped the note and turned my wide-eyed gaze to the individual in front of me.

"So. You got to the end, huh?"

I was too shocked to respond, much less move.

"You know it's me?" He questioned again.

After a few moments, I found it in myself to nod jerkily.

"Good," he smiled, and then began to move towards me. I couldn't seem to stand up at that moment but I was capable of scrambling away from him.

He paused, looking heartbroken. "Astrid..." He began moving towards me again.

"K-keep away!" I stuttered.

He continued to move closer to me, and I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so trapped. "Astrid, please, I-"

"I said keep away!" I snapped. It wasn't like me to act like this. _I have to be strong,_ I thought to myself. _I have to get out of here._

So I stood up and grabbed my clothes off the drying place in a single movement, and raced towards Toothless, who lifted his head up quizzically.

I began to scramble atop the dragon, but a hand grabbed my wrist, and pulled me back down. I whimpered, terrified. I made a desperate attempt to pull myself free, but was surprised to find that Hiccup had become stronger than I was, and he held his grip.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and turned my body around. He was far too close, and he towered over my small stature. "Astrid, please. Listen to me," he begged.

"No!" I near yelled. "You're just going to try and convince me to marry you, and I'm not going to, dammit! I will never marry you! I would rather die than shackle myself to anyone, much less to you, I won't, I refuse, I-" and then my words were cut off by a possessively angry growl.

"You will not die." He ground out. "And you will marry me. Your father was not mistaken. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have children with you. No, I demand it. I will not accept anything else."

I whimpered again. "Let me go."

"No. I'm never going to let you go." And then he pulled me tight against him, and pressed his lips to my own terrified ones, and, pulling me away from Toothless, he lowered me to the ground. His kiss was hungry and desperate, and I knew he wanted to take more than just my lips.

"Kiss me back," he ordered.

"No, I won't, I-" he pressed his lips against mine again, growling in the back of his throat.

"Kiss me back, Astrid." I refused again. "What can I do to make you want me as I want you?" He asked, pressing his need against me.

Tears welled up in my eyes when I felt his hardness against me. I was terrified. I knew without a doubt he could easily have his way with me. He was much stronger than me now. The tears began to fall freely down my cheeks.

"Astrid..." He said softly. I whimpered. "Astrid, my love, I would never hurt you. I won't take you without your consent. You should know that by now."

"I'm not your love," I snapped, angry once more.

"Oh, but you are," he nuzzled my neck. "My love," he kissed my neck once, "and my wife, soon enough", he kissed it again.

"I will be no such thing. I've told you I'm not going to marry you. I absolutely refuse."

He growled again, his frustration rising. "You don't understand. You're mine." He pinned my hands above my head with one of his own. I was suddenly reminded of how large they were. How large _he_ was, compared to me. _When did he get so much taller than me? He always had been -I wasn't exactly tall myself-, but not this much. So when?_ I wondered.

He kissed me again, and the shirt I was wearing -his shirt- rode up around my thighs as he pressed his body against mine. _Gods_, I thought. _This feels amazing._ Then I reminded myself that I could not be feeling such things, and so I pushed the hormones aside.

He ground against me. "Astrid..." He moaned against my neck. He moaned my named several times.

I remained silent.

He pulled back from me, still holding my hands above my head with one of his, while the other was used to prop himself up.

"Say it."

"Say what?" I asked, exasperated.

"My name."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want me to say your name?"

"Yes. Say it. Now," He demanded.

"No," I said flatly.

He growled again. "Say it." He demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Or what?"

His grin would've made Loki proud, and I quickly found out why- he slid his hands up my sides, slowly inching closer to my breasts. "Or I'll touch them," he whispered. "I'll grasp them and fondle them. Maybe even suck them..." He trailed off.

"Dammit, Hiccup, no!" I made an attempt to push him away. He nuzzled my neck instead.

"Good. That's what I wanted. Now say you're mine." If the glare I sent him had been my axe, his head would have been rolling on the floor of the cave. "You know what I'll do if you don't."

"Fine," I snapped. "I'm yours."

"Forever?"

"What?" I groaned inwardly.

"Say it's forever."

"Yes, fine, fine." This time I did groan. "Forever. I'm yours forever." He kissed me in response.

"Now tell me how much you love me." He said softly, kissing my lips gently.

"What? Hiccup, I'm sorry, but I don't-"

"You do," he said simply. "I know you do. Now tell me."

"But-"

"Tell me that you love me, and say you'll marry me," he demanded.

I groaned again. "Fine, I do, and I will."

"Say it. Actually say it." He whispered against my lips. "Swear it to Freya herself."

"Please don't make me," I begged.

"I need to hear it. Please. Say it. Tell me exactly how much you love me. And say my name when you do. I love it when you say my name."

I sighed, then took a deep, quivering breath. "Hiccup, I swear to and before Freya, the goddess of love, fertility and... and sexuality, that I..." it was at this point that I realized I was about to speak the truth. I didn't know when I began to love him, but I did, and the force of it -my love for him- hit me so hard that I nearly lost my breath. He wanted for me to continue. I did. "That I love you, and only you, and that I will marry you. I will love you all throughout this life, and I will love you after death. There is nothing I want more than to be with you. I will spend my eternity at your side. " As I finished, I felt my face heat up.

He took my face gently in his hands, leaned his forehead against mine, and whispered, "really? Do you really mean that or did you just say it because I wanted you to? Or made you, I guess. If you didn't mean it I promise I won't do anything. Just tell me if you meant it."

I shut my eyes tightly, not wanting to look at him after such a confession. I nodded slightly. "Yes, I... I mean it."

"Thank the Gods," he said before kissing me. Not sure what to do, I simply lay there beneath him. Frustrated, he pulled back slightly. "Astrid, there's no reason for you not to kiss me back now. You've said you love me, and that you want to be with me. You don't have to hide how you feel about me. I don't want you to." I blushed, nodding my agreement. "Will you kiss me back?" I nodded again.

He leaned in, and pressed his lips to mine once more. Wrapping my arms around his lanky frame, I tilted my head to the side. His tongue probed my lips, slipping inside as I wove my fingers into his hair.

"Say my name again, baby..." He begged softly, as he started to suck my neck.

"Hiccup..." I moaned. He sucked harder in response, his teeth scraping my skin, and I knew it would leave a mark.

His hands reached down the shirt I was wearing, slipping under it. "I love the way you look in my clothes," he sighed against me. I hummed happily. He slid his hands up my stomach and over my ribcage, soon finding my breast bindings. He stroked them at first, barely grazing them, but then he kissed me again, roughly, and grasped my breasts with equal roughness. "They're much bigger than they look," he noted as they easily filled his hands.

"That's on purpose. I make them look smaller." I gasped out as he fondled the part of my body in question.

"Why?" He wondered aloud.

"To stop men from... Ah...! Looking at them... Mmm..." I said in between gasps of pleasure.

"Good. Other men can't look at you the way I look at you. The only one who knows what size your breasts actually are," he said with a squeeze, "is me."

I hummed in agreement, then pulled him to me and our lips met once more in a frenzied kiss.

"I want you," he moaned against my lips. "I want to be inside you."

I pushed him away a bit, turning my head to the side.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. I love you, but I... I'm just not ready for that yet," I said softly, wrapping my arms around myself as we both sat up and he moved off me.

"I'll... Try and wait, I guess," he said hesitantly. I smiled at him gratefully, completely unaware of what he was thinking, which was, _I've waited too long. I can't anymore. I need her._


End file.
